WORLD BRIEFING | EUROPE; France: Trial Opens For 2004 Hate Crime

By ARIANE BERNARD

Published: September 11, 2007

Three men are on trial for desecrating more than 110 Jewish graves in eastern France in 2004, facing up to three years in jail and $62,000 in fines. The three, described as neo-Nazis ages 27, 28 and 37, are accused of covering 117 graves in the Herrlisheim cemetery near Colmar with graffiti, swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans. The desecrations were the first of several similar incidents in the Alsace region in 2004. The trial is expected to last through Wednesday.